Tom Russell was born in Los Angeles, taught criminology in Nigeria, played in Vancouver bars, spent time living and working in New York City and has made his music in venues ranging from nightclubs to folk festivals. A singer, songwriter, painter, novelist and essayist, he has no trouble living on and around the edges.

Russell's latest CD, "Blood and Candle Smoke" (Shout Factory), is a collection of stark, plain-spoken, often autobiographical songs that deal with to-the-bone topics such as the contemporary West. When he paints, Russell's topics are musicians, cowboys, Indians, Mexicans, food and yes, the contemporary West. He's at work on a book of essays about the west.

"It's sort of 'A Moveable Feast,' because I'm here, just a few miles from Juarez and the drug wars," Russell said via phone from his home near El Paso. "This is the Real West. Three thousand people have been gunned down in Juarez. It's worse than Baghdad. People ask me why I live here. It's perfect for Tom Russell the outsider. In a lot of ways I'm an expatriate from all the scenes."

Russell will come in from the outside Sunday to work Casbeers at the Church with guitarist Thad Beckman.

Though he considers himself an expatriate from all the scenes, Russell has penned songs that have been recorded by insiders and outsiders alike, including Johnny Cash, Joe Ely, Nanci Griffith, Doug Sahm, Dave Alvin, Suzy Bogguss and Katy Moffatt. He writes great songs about outsiders, such as "Blue Wing," "Gallo del Cielo," 'Haley's Comet," and, on the "Blood and Candle Smoke" disc, "Crosses of San Carlos," "Nina Simone," "The Most Dangerous Woman in America" and "Don't Look Down."

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"I worked on these songs for three or four years," he said. "The old critics, they put you in a bag, 'Oh, yeah, we know what Tom Russell does. He's the guy who invented Americana with Dave Alvin.' I think my music has reached out beyond that. It's not A-B-C storytelling."

Russell wrote all the songs on "Blood and Candle Smoke."

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Tom Russell

When: 8 p.m. Sunday

Where: Casbeers at the Church, 1150 S. Alamo St.

Tickets: $20 at the door

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"I value all the songs I wrote with all the other people I learned a tremendous amount from," he said. "But I find it hard to do today because compromise is the devil. I wanted this group of songs to come from myself. I seem to be digging a new hole in a different direction."

Sunday, Russell won't ignore songs from Stage One.

"I've radically changed the live show," he said. "I was tempted to go out and do the whole new album in the first set. But I decided to do seven or eight plus maybe 'Who's Gonna Build Your Wall' and 'All This Way for the Short Ride.' Then, in the second set, I'll mix in a few old ones so it's not shocking. But I believe in these new songs so much that I don't want to deliver shtick."